I read a qoute from one of the chess greats, I think it might have been Karpov, that read something like this:"Chess is intellectual acrobatics" Well I like to think that Origami is Geometric Gymnastics . Just the fact that Origami is so fundamentally rooted in mathematics prooves that mathematics can indeed be beautiful . And creative

There is a time for everything, that time has been pre-ordained be almighty God. Trust Him, and no harm shall come to you. He will keep you safely inside his loving hands.

But it is true that many of the "innovative" folders use mathmatical equations and such to design their models. A lot of geometry is involved as well....Origami is constantly becoming a more mathmatical art, but as wolf said, that can almost be said of anything.....

Wait just a minute. I think you guys might have the cat by its tail. Origami isn't a mathematical art because their is math present, it is a mathematical art because math is inexstricably linked to the creational process. You use mainly mathematical principles throughout almost every design, some are just used more subconciously. Aznman, you are right, many folders use equations to find proportions or angle etc. in their designs, but these are only basic. The true art comes in the more subtle use of math in the creation of beauty in the model.

Wolf, anything and everything in our universe has math involded in it in some way, that is what makes it so elegant. The question is, is math a mere tool to the art or part of the beauty?

P.S. check out the umulius variation in my photos (signiture). It was made using pure math.

There is a time for everything, that time has been pre-ordained be almighty God. Trust Him, and no harm shall come to you. He will keep you safely inside his loving hands.

I would say that the most noticable mathematical designs are modulars, because modulars are like fractions: pieces coming together to make a whole Also, the mathematics in origami is what makes it one of the most magnificant (and one of the less popular, sadly ) forms of art!

Tjips wrote:...that is what makes it so elegant. The question is, is math a mere tool to the art or part of the beauty?...

Perhaps elegant in the days of crystal spheres, astronomical platonic solids, etc. The equations that govern the most basic physical phenomena are often anything but elegant - intractable recursive terms, multiple singularities waiting to trip you up, expressions and equations that need to be evaluated and solved for numerically, and even those are approximations. Using a computer to calculate the path of an electron through a solid isn't elegant, but making one with your hands and actually seeing it work is pretty darned cool.

I agree with cupcake. Modulars are the most mathematical form of origami. But the x is y because of z theory can apply to anything. Modulars are mathematical because it comes together, like the net of a shape but other elements of folding like pureland models rely on other types of mathematics...

Just because rubbing two twigs together makes firewood doesnt mean we should...Wood ...the pulp of which paper is made from has an element in Chinese astrology .It is taken as seriously as Greeks take pagan myths...Just because it uses plot lines and algebra doesn't mean it's going to manifest riches or aid the folder with magic...It is simply art ...fundamentally and often an author dies before his creation is appreciated by the general populace...and I agree forums are very clique they are not going to help a damsel in distress but others get plenty of response

I see origami as a form of applied geometry. Mathematics is at the core of the art by its very nature.

This not only the mathematically inclined enjoy origami, I think they are more likely to be attracted to origami in the first place. Mathematical inclination does make it easier to understand origami design principles, so many of the best designers are going to also be skilled at mathematics. I do think you can be a good folder while not having an understanding of the math behind it, though. And there are gorgeous, simple models out there that do not require deep mathematical understanding to design, but show off the paper's beauty and the artistic skills it takes to sculpt it. I find models like that just as impressive as technical origami.

I am a female folder myself and have not met any others. I'm not an amazing designer or anything but I do like folding complex origami.